The alternative Freshers guide 2016

You’ve arrived in a new city and you’re raring to go; out in the open and ready to discover the world outside. You want excitement; you want to meet like minded people; you want to hear something new. The problem is, you don’t know where to go, your new housemate got a flyer for a face paint party at the union, and even the finest painter couldn’t disguise the dread etched deeply into your face at the thought of cramming into a sweaty student bar to queue for watered down shot after watered down shot. There must be something else, you think. This can’t be it.

Fortunately for you, that isn’t all there is, and if you live in Leeds, London or Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Birmingham or Bristol, then we’re throwing you a get out of jail free card. Serving up a taste of what your city really has to offer during your first few weeks at uni, we’ve compiled this alternative guide to going out in those confusing freshers weeks.

Leeds’ underground scene isn’t the hardest to find, with loads of bands playing at local venues and places like Mint Club, Mint Warehouse and Canal Mills all supplying non-mainstream dance music every weekend. This time round, we’ve picked out Joy Orbison’s 5 hour set at Call Lane cellar Wire as the perfect night on the all important first Friday of the student year, the 23rd of September. Following that up, Saturday 24th sees the legendary night Subdub return, with Iration Steppas, Dubkasm, Massai Warrior and more introducing the new generation to the cherished Leeds West Indian Centre.

Birmingham also boasts the fantastic UK hip-hop of Loyle Carner, who plays O2 Institute3 on Sunday 2 October. A skilled and poignant lyricist backed by the smooth jazz instrumentals that have come to characterise the very best of UK hip-hop, Carner ought to attract a substantial crowd of hip-hop heads. Before that, indie rock kids Sundara Karma will be on stage 2 of the same venue on the Thursday 20th September.